Macao adds cinematic appeal to diversify tourism

Macao's brand-new cinematic-themed entertainment resort, Studio City, opened Tuesday evening as short film "The Audition", the first Hollywood production tailor-made for Macao premiered.

The grand red carpet launch pushed Studio City under global spotlight Tuesday night when Hollywood legends Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Academy award-winning director Martin Scorsese and acclaimed director and producer Brett Ratner, appeared in Macao, revealing their collaboration story and interesting sidelights of the filming.

Setting to boost Macao's competitiveness as an international tourism destination, Studio City rolled out an array of integrated leisure facilities with innovative concept of movie.

The resort is designed for family tourists by offering live magic performances at "The House of Magic", interactive indoor fun zone for kids with characters from Warner Bros.' DC Comics, and outdoor pool and adventurous RiverScape Rides of over 260 meters long.

The entertainment facilities are combined with accommodation of a 1,600-room hotel and diverse range of restaurants, cafes and relaxed bars and lounges with over 30 food and beverage venues as well as a world class retail avenue.

To cater to tourists' desire of diversified culture and relaxation elements, the resort boasts a 5,000-seat multi-purpose entertainment center built to host live concerts, theatrical and sporting events, and a 300-seat live-audience TV broadcast studio for reality and game-show productions.

The opening of Studio City "marks the start of a new era of leisure destination entertainment for Macao and Asia," said the developer Melco Crown Entertainment's Co-Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho in the press conference.

"The opening of Studio City stands testament to the company's commitment to helping evolve and enhance Macao's non-gaming entertainment proposition as we continue to work towards the strategic aim in supporting its evolution into a highly-diversified and world-leading leisure and tourism destination."

Ho said that over 95 percent of the 3.2 billion U.S. dollars investment has been spent in adding non-gaming appeal to the project.

In the long term run, he was confident with the potential in the mainland market, saying that the infrastructure construction of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, light transit rail and Taipa ferry terminal will facilitate the travel and improve the attraction of the city.

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